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4 ways to improve your candidate search

Any company that's looking to fill an open position - whether it's existing or newly created - knows that getting the hire right the first time is a must. However, that's often easier said than done.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways in which businesses can make sure they're hiring the right person as efficiently as possible, including the following:

1) Narrow the focus

When it comes to trying to find the best available candidates, casting a broad net might not always be the best option, according to G2. Instead of just listing open positions on the biggest job search sites possible, utilizing industry-specific sites will likely help find people with more skills directly related to the opening. At the same time, because the people browsing these sites will likely also have a lot of familiarity with the kind of work any candidate would do if hired, writing a better and more focused job description becomes a must.

2) Make it easier to apply

One of the big frustrations that many job seekers run into while they hunt for a new position is that, in many cases, the process of actually applying can be overly complicated, according to Indeed. Some companies, for example, essentially ask for the same information twice, requiring applicants to both fill out forms online and also attach resumes that effectively contain the same information.

Cutting out one of those steps or the other could go a long way toward reducing the number of potentially qualified candidates who simply quit out of the process rather than follow it to its natural conclusion. Put another way: When it's easier to apply, more candidates will do so.

3) Create a template

Of course, when the number of job candidates goes up, that creates more work for hiring managers, not that this is necessarily a bad thing, Indeed added. It does, however, mean those professionals have to do more to streamline the process and reduce the time they're devoting to filling that one job in particular. For instance, something as simple as having an email template - particularly one that sends automatically to every applicant for the job - can help reduce time spent on the candidate search.

4) Utilize tech

With the need for greater efficiency increasing these days, so too is the number of tech options that improve the process of culling dozens or even hundreds of applicants down to a select few, according to Entrepreneur magazine. Artificial intelligence has recently come to the forefront in this regard, and may be ideal for some companies if they're expecting a lot of interest in a job they'll be posting.

In a broader sense, the ability of both candidate and hiring managers to get through this whole process as quickly and easily - while still making sure the hire will be a mutually beneficial relationship - as possible is absolutely critical, because bringing the wrong person aboard can have a significant negative impact on both parties. Finding ways to avoid that issue will be vital to keeping the company moving in the right direction.